We’ve tasted our fair share of chicken marsala in our years of writing reviews for Freezer Meal Frenzy. From Stouffer’s to Healthy Choice, it seems like every frozen brand is hopping on the marsala bandwagon. Of course, Lean Cuisine wouldn’t dare be left out.
Today, we’re checking out Lean Cuisine’s take on this Italian-American dish, the Lean Cuisine Chicken Marsala.
Every batch of marsala we try tends to be a little bit different. Stouffer’s, for example, pairs theirs with noodles, while Healthy Choice uses chunks of potato as a base. Lean Cuisine doesn’t do either of these things; instead, this dish comes served over risotto.
Well, served over isn’t the correct term to use here. This actually comes with the chicken and risotto portions divided up, with the marsala wine sauce and mushrooms mixed in with the chicken side.
We were hesitant about the risotto when we first picked this up, but now that we’ve tried it we think it’s a great choice. The risotto here is tasty and creamy — in fact, we’re confident saying that the risotto is the best part of this meal by far.
Mixed in with the risotto, you’ll find some peas. We’re not huge fans of peas, and these ones are definitely not going to change our minds. They’re shrivelled and flavorless, and thankfully the sauce in the risotto is so rich that we could mostly just ignore those nasty little green balls.
The chicken is not great. It’s inconsistent — it’s soft in some places and rubbery in others — and the taste just isn’t very good. A chicken had to die to make this meal happen; our fine feathered friends deserve better than this.
The marsala sauce doesn’t do a whole lot to change this. Marsala sauce often has a little bit of sweetness to it, but this stuff just has a weird aftertaste. And as much as we love mushrooms, not even those could save this dish. In fact, when combined with the sauce, these kind of taste like plastic.
The calorie count here is nice and low. With 220 calories, you can scarf down a plate of this stuff without feeling too guilty about it. The sodium level isn’t bad either, at 550 mg. That’s maybe a bit high for your typical home-cooked meal, but it’s definitely lower than average for a frozen meal. Of course, this isn’t much food — it’s just a few cuts of chicken and a few bites of risotto. We’re pretty sure this one will leave you feeling hungry.
The Lean Cuisine Chicken Marsala is a hard pass for us. With the exception of the oddly wonderful risotto, every piece of this meal ranges from mediocre to awful. If you’re looking for a marsala dish that doesn’t disappoint, you’ll do much better with Stouffer’s offerings; both the family-sized option and the single-serve option are much, much better than this Lean Cuisine dish.
To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for this frozen marsala dish, check out our package scans below.
